Saturday and a Takashi Murakami exhibit

I wasn't scheduled to work on Saturday, so Matt and I had a rare fun-filled day. First, I woke up early and made Matt french toast. I never get to make breakfast because I value my sleep too much, so this was truly a big deal for me. 

After that, we saw a matinee showing of The Great Gatsby, which I loved. Then, we were starving, so we remembered this Top 10 Best Fried Chicken in LA list and headed to Honey's Kettle to get some chicken and biscuits. YUM. 

Afterwards, we headed to Blum and Poe art gallery in Culver City to see the Takashi Murakami exhibit. Murakami is one of Matt's favorite artists. I'm mostly a fan of his flower art. We were so glad that we got to see his work in real life. 

Later that night, we had some late night ice cream with AZ friends at Milk, my tried-and-true favorite ice cream spot in LA. Please, everyone go and get their Nutella ice cream. It will make you the happiest of happy. (But don't go on a Saturday night around 10pm, because the line will be absurd.)

Trip to the plant nursery

Saturday was my birthday! The big 2-4.  It was a pretty low-key birthday, and I loved it. We spent it down in Newport with Matt's family for his cousin's wedding, which was beautiful. In between wedding festivities, Matt surprised me by taking me to a nursery to pick out succulents for our new apartment. It took us forever to pick them out because they were all so pretty. In the end, we picked out the three in the last photo. Cute, right?

Somehow I have turned into a baseball fan.

I don't really follow sports... and some would say I don't really even UNDERSTAND sports... but I LOVE going to games. Is there anything more fun than eating junk food and doing the wave and clapping fun rhythms when the almighty stadium gods prompt you to clap?? I think not. Matt and I also managed to creep our way onto the Jumbotron (is that what it's called?) when our neighbors got the limelight, so we're really cool. 

Also, please notice that I'm wearing my Dodgers blue. I'm really into this. 

The Getty Center

This weekend, Matt and I went to the Getty Center, a museum in Los Angeles. I have a feeling we'll be spending a lot of time here from now on, because DID YOU KNOW IT'S FREE?? Okay, well not completely free. Parking costs $15. But you can spend the entire day there. And bring your own food. So I'd say that's a pretty good deal (in LA, that is...). Plus, you get to take this really fun tram from the parking garage to the museum... 

We mainly went to see the film Tokyo Story, which is part of their "In Tokyo" film series. The film series is in conjunction with the exhibition "Japan's Modern Divide: The Photographs of Hiroshi Hamaya and Kansuke Yamamoto". If you love Japanese culture like I do, I would highly suggest visiting the Getty Center soon to catch it.

Two useful things I learned for my next trip are (1) Parking is only $10 after 5PM and (2) You can go to both the Getty Center AND the Getty Villas on the same day and only have to pay parking for 1! Score.

In other news, we officially signed a lease for our new apartment! I'm feeling really good about this. We are upgrading to a bigger space, in a better neighborhood, with our own parking spot (!!!). (Street parking is the WORST.) Needless to say, I can't wait to get out of our tiny studio apartment. 

Blouse: Madewell (similar); Skirt: Madewell (similar); Boots: Urban; Bag: Ruche 

My first trip to Magnolia

Both my full-time job and my part-time job are within walking distance of 2 different Sprinkles Cupcakes locations. I know. I cannot believe my luck. 

Now, what does this have to do with Magnolia Bakery? Well, it seems as though there are many, many people who are adamantly against Sprinkles because they are so devoted to Magnolia. On Friday, I listened to a co-worker talk religiously about not only Magnolia's cupcakes, but also, Magnolia's banana pudding. And then I went home and read Nat the Fat Rat's blog post about that darn banana pudding. I decided I needed to figure out what this hullabuloo was all about.

Luckily, I got cut from my Saturday job 4 hours early (I couldn't stop jumping up and down after hearing this news) and was able to finally stop in at Magnolia Bakery on 3rd. Here are my takeaways (I actually hate that word):

1. Although finding street parking is nearly impossible - we refuse to valet - the line only consisted of 3 people. HURRAH for not having to wait too long in line. Take that, Sprinkles.
2. The banana pudding was EVEN BETTER than anyone could ever have told me. 
3. The cupcakes... I'm really not that picky about cupcakes. I mean, I'll eat them all happily if given the opportunity, but... people really think these are better than Sprinkles? Mine was pretty dry. I don't understand. I do like how they frost the cupcakes, though. I'll give them that. 

In conclusion: I'll definitely be going back to Magnolia - but ONLY for banana pudding. 

In other news, last week was pretty great. It consisted of: 

Taco Tuesdays at Cafe Rio, Life of Pi at the dollar theater, watching a lot of Arrested Development, discovering that I love mozzarella, me awkwardly trying to fit in at work, teaching the YW lesson while sweating profusely because the room was abnormally hot, wandering around neighborhoods in Pasadena that were filled with peacocks hanging out on the street, etc, etc.